On the Shelf 078 : Firewater
Oct. 28th, 2012 10:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Firewater is out with their first new album in four years, following the excellent The Golden Hour.
Initial reviews were negative, but Firewater is one of those bands that critics don't "get". Besides, this album was written in interesting times. Tod A wrote the album while spending time in Tel Aviv and Istanbul while the "Arab Spring" was going on.
I had high hopes, but International Orange! is a bit of a disappointment. Firewater is getting close to the 20-year mark, and a whole genre of 'gypsy punk' has since sprung up (Indeed, one of the people from one of those bands, Balkan Beat Box is a major collaborator here).
Still, like some of Joe Strummer's lesser solo works, this may be good on its own merit, but really fails in terms of potential. (Strummer looms large- "Dead Man's Boots" is a 21-st century rewrite of "Know Your Rights".
Still if you have never heard them, this stilll may be a good introduction to one of the best bands on the planet. It just isn't their best material.
Initial reviews were negative, but Firewater is one of those bands that critics don't "get". Besides, this album was written in interesting times. Tod A wrote the album while spending time in Tel Aviv and Istanbul while the "Arab Spring" was going on.
I had high hopes, but International Orange! is a bit of a disappointment. Firewater is getting close to the 20-year mark, and a whole genre of 'gypsy punk' has since sprung up (Indeed, one of the people from one of those bands, Balkan Beat Box is a major collaborator here).
Still, like some of Joe Strummer's lesser solo works, this may be good on its own merit, but really fails in terms of potential. (Strummer looms large- "Dead Man's Boots" is a 21-st century rewrite of "Know Your Rights".
Still if you have never heard them, this stilll may be a good introduction to one of the best bands on the planet. It just isn't their best material.
